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Gas station idiot put 87 in by mistake...

the car is knocking at low revs, and clearly feel lack of power. It still runs good and accelerates..so I guess the ecu has detected it and adjusted accordingly.

Any idea on how to drain it? Had about 4 gallons of 93 and he put 12 gallons of 87. I tried to siphon it but the pipe won't go far enough, also tried through fuel pump under the rear seat and that won't work either. I put in another 5.3 gallons of 93 so its probably close to 89 now.

try a fuel additive, octane booster type

That seems to have almost fixed it

First tried fuel system dryer. Service manager suggested it might me moisture, but it was still giving those fault codes. I then tried Lucas Octane booster, reset the codes and drove around and service engine soon light didn't come back on, also no more fault codes. However I still feel the exhaust is not as smooth, I'd say about 50% improvement over what I had before the booster. I'll try again later today or tomorrow morning to see if it comes back.

Re: Gas station idiot put 87 in by mistake...

I did try Octane booster, at first it did seem like it was getting better. After reset, the SES light did not come off, only till i started the car again. Took it to bmw and they said Vanos needs replacement and has nothing to do with fuel. The part itself is about 3500 from bmw, but found it for around 2000 at Tischer, can't believe such a huge difference. i'm taking it to an Indy shop on monday to see what they say.

that sucks (VANOS replacment) How may miles?

I'm tolerant of the constant trim problems I've had with mine.

I also had a little metal inspection cover on the valve cover come off, spewing out oil and getting me a 100 miles on a tow truck: $375 towing, $400 labor to get to the cover, $25 for the cover, and $800 in lost income going back and forth to the dealership I like 110 miles away. I also has a leaking input shaft seal on the diffential that cost $375 and anther $800 in lost income.

The BMW dealership I deal with is graat, the nicest bunch of people I've ever dealt with at a car dealership. I'm not sure how the new owners are from the Honda dealership we bought my wife's 63k mile Accord from... because the car's never been in the shop.

The V-TEC on wife's old Civic was V-TEC-ing fine at 100k miles. If I drop a VANOS before my car goes away at 105k, I'll likely be done with BMW's.

Re: that sucks (VANOS replacment) How may miles?

90k miles, first problem i've ever had. i'm taking it to an indy tomorrow morning to see what they say . The dealer I go to is charging $3500 for the part and $1200 for labor + tax. I found the part for $2300 at www.bavauto.com and for $2000 at http://www.getBMWparts.com. I'm not convinced the whole Vanos unit needs replacement..will find out more tomorrow.